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By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

CHELSEA – With area play winding down, every match is important the Briarwood Christian Lions and everyone racing for the playoffs in Class 6A, Area 8. Both the girls and boys teams stepped up to the challenge and delivered crucial victories on the road at Chelsea High School.

Briarwood’s girls defeated the Chelsea Hornets 2-0 on Friday, April 4 before the boys rallied for a 2-1 victory in a top-five battle in Class 6A.

With the wins, Briarwood’s boys remained undefeated atop the area table with a 4-0 record, dropping Chelsea to 2-2, the same record as Pelham, while the Lady Lions’ win puts them level with the Hornets for second place at 2-2.

In the girls game, Chelsea opted for its traditional possession-based attack to begin, keeping the ball within the attacking half but not producing many chances in the first half other than a pair of offside runs around the 17th minute.

That opened the door for Briarwood to strike on the counter attack.

Zoey Eighmy got a breakaway in the sixth minute, but Laura Russell caught up and handled the chance in one of many won duels on the night for the Hornets defender. She also had a run right at the goal in the 13th minute where Chelsea collected the ball.

After the offside chances for the Hornets, the Lions had a pair of dangerous chances off a 20th-minute Ellie Rushing shot from outside the box and a free kick that landed inside the box but had no one to turn it into a chance.

Ava Hoaglund then came extremely close to scoring in the 33rd minute when her volley hit the crossbar. Mere seconds later, Briarwood found its breakthrough.

Given a quick counterattack opportunity on the left wing, the Lions struck quickly as Brooklyn Barnett dished the ball to Taylor Matthews. She sent a shot across the goal into the right corner of the net to give the visitors a 1-0 lead.

Rushing had another last-minute attempt that was neutralized by Russell, and that led the teams to go into the break with Briarwood up 1-0.

Shortly after a wide cross from the right wing, the Lions got a golden opportunity to double up their lead. The Hornets tackled Eighmy inside the box to give Briarwood a penalty kick.

Barnett stepped up to take it, but the low-left corner shot got stopped by Addison Nemeth to preserve the 1-0 scoreline.

Chelsea followed up the crucial save with a strong 10 minutes on both ends of the pitch as Mackenzie McCleary had a strong tackle on a right-wing run while the Hornets got a pair of shots come in a five-minute span ahead of the 69th minute.

Chelsea capped off the run with a very dangerous free kick in the 70th minute. The ball landed right in front of the Lions keeper, but contact during the play nearly led to a loose-ball disaster before the defense handled the threat.

Briarwood then doubled up the lead in the 71st minute. Matthews crossed the ball right at the right corner flag, and after the Hornets keeper couldn’t handle the initial punch out, Hoaglund was there to tap it in for the 2-0 lead.

The final four minutes saw both teams frantically exchange chances, including breakaway chances for Barnett and Rushing on Briarwood’s side, a curling shot from Matthews hat missed and a couple of close calls from Adeline Keith for Chelsea.

The Hornets managed one last chance in the 80th minute when Stella DeSilva teed off from deep, but the shot missed right and the Lions took the 2-0 win.

As for the boys game, both teams engaged in a spirited midfield battle that didn’t lead to many first-half chances but did generate lots of energy for the packed bleachers of fans.

Briarwood had an early shot on the break in the second minute, but Drew Purkey handled the ball well to make the save. Luke Miller got a chance to respond for Chelsea by getting in the box around 15 minutes into the game, but he couldn’t get off a shot with multiple Lions closing.

Briarwood ended the half on a strong note with a close-range shot from Carson Tucker in the 35th minute and a situation where the Lions had to retake a free kick in the 38th minute but missed on both kicks.

The Hornets got a set piece chance of their own early in the second half. In the 44th minute, Briarwood cleared the initial effort but Shon McKenney was there to clean up the rebound, earning him the goal and Cayden Nix the assist as Chelsea went up 1-0.

The action then picked up inside the attacking halves on both sides as Parker Dean tried for a volley on a hockey-style one-timer in the 47th minute.

Sawyer Felton then missed a header on a corner during the 50th minute, but he didn’t miss twice. Just a minute later, he sent a shot into the low right corner of the goal to celebrate the game-tying goal with the traveling Briarwood fans.

Mere minutes later, the Lions continued snowballing the momentum into another goal. A defensive breakdown by the Hornets in the 55th minute left Britt Wagoner free inside the box, and he deposited a cross into the open right side of the goal to take the 2-1 lead.

Both teams racked up yellow cards during the next stretch as the physical play turned chippy with the intensity from the pitch spilling out into the stands.

However, the Lions recovered and had the majority of the chances down the stretch to keep Chelsea at bay. The Hornets had one last gasp in the 80th minute when Daniel Teixeira sent in a cross, but Briarwood got up to hit the ball out and seal the 2-1 win.

Briarwood will return to action on Tuesday, April 8 when it hits the road to face the Spain Park Jaguars. The girls will play at 5 p.m. ahead of the boys game at 7 p.m.

As for Chelsea, the boys defeated the Stanhope Elmore Mustangs 3-2 on Monday, April 7 off two goals from Miller and one from Cooper Baumbaugh.

They will rejoin the girls for their Thursday, April 10 road trip to Pelham. The girls will square off at 5:30 p.m. before the boys’ Shelby Derby matchup at 7:30 p.m.